Cinch World’s Toughest Rodeo is coming back to Minneapolis on February 3rd and 4th to glorify animal abuse for entertainment. This rodeo includes bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, and barrel racing. The horses, bulls, and steer, often suffer broken ribs, backs, and legs, torn tails, punctured lungs, internal organ damage, ripped tendons, torn ligaments, snapped necks, and agonizing deaths. This year, they’re also allowing the public to ride ponies prior to the event. More information on why rodeos are cruel can be found here.  

Thankfully, some cities are making progress to eliminate or restrict this cruel excuse for entertainment. On  December 7, 2022, the Los Angeles City Council P.A.A.W. (Personnel, Audits, and Animal Welfare) Committee passed the Rodeo “Tools of Torment” Ban that will prohibit the use of the rodeo’s torture devices – specifically electric prods and shocking devices, spurs and rowels, and flank or bucking straps. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case in Minnesota. 

Join ARC to stand up against the rodeo’s cruel animal abuse by peacefully protesting outside the Xcel Energy Center on Friday, the 3rd, from 6:30-7:45 pm. 

Sign up to volunteer here: https://forms.gle/Ctc5kvNF8Dz83y3P6

New York just became the 6th state to end the sale of puppies in pet stores! This includes cats and rabbits, as well. The new law, which was signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul and takes effect in 2024, lets pet shops work with shelters to offer rescued or abandoned animals up for adoption rather than profiting off animals from commercial breeding operations, or puppy mills. “A puppy mill is a dog breeding operation in which the health of the dogs is disregarded in order to maintain a low overhead and maximize profits” (Avenson v. Zegart, 577 F. Supp. 958, U.S. District Court, Minnesota). To increase profits, mills breed more animals. Corners are cut such as staff shortages, lack of veterinary care, inadequate food and shelter, and other factors. Animals bred into these facilities are denied the ability to perform their natural behaviors such as exercising, socializing with others of the same species and humans, and in some cases, even seeing or feeling the fresh outdoors. To learn more about puppy mills and the benefits of a humane pet store ordinance, visit www.gohumaneblaine.com. 

Six states and over 390 localities across the county, including Roseville, Eden Prairie, St. Paul, Carver, and Cloquet, MN, have passed humane pet store laws. Unfortunately, there are still a few remaining pet stores in Minnesota that sell animals to consumers from commercial breeding operations. 

MN Pet Stores Supplied by Commercial Breeding Operations: http://www.minnesotansagainstpuppymills.com/mn-pet-stores.html

A Humane Pet Store Model in Minnesota “will help end puppy and kitten mill cruelty and prevent consumer heartache that can result from purchasing a sick or behaviorally challenged pet from a pet store” (gohumaneblaine.com). 

Take Action Here: http://www.gohumaneblaine.com/take-action.html 

Follow Minnesotan’s Exposing the Pet Trade for more information on ARC’s work to stop pet stores in Minnesota from buying and selling animals from puppy mills. 

Legalized animal abuse is coming to town again. The Professional Bull Riders: Unleash the Beast rodeo tour is returning to Minneapolis for the first time since 2019. On December 9th and 10th, “top bull riders in the world square off against the best bulls in the industry.” Join us in standing up against cruelty to animals by peacefully protesting outside the Target Center on Friday, December 9th.

Rodeos are extremely cruel and deadly for the animals involved. Watching terrified animals in pain is not entertaining, it’s brutal exploitation and should be shut down immediately. More information on why rodeos are cruel can be found here: https://www.britannica.com/…/rodeo-cruelty-forget-the-myth

Sign up to volunteer at the protest here: https://forms.gle/qzBLspfmRNWv1RSv6

“My favorite piece of what the Animal Rights Coalition does is the outreach! Sharing veganism with the community through events, educating on the HUGE positive impact, and making it accessible! Being welcomed into veganism and having support has meant the world to me and my family!” – Sarabeth Kelly 

These are words from one of the many ARC members who chose to Give to the Max for ARC this year. ARC uses outreach to educate the public about animal rights in many different forms including leafleting, tabling, pay-per-view virtual reality, TV outreach, peaceful protests, educational workshops, cooking classes, grocery shopping tours, school presentations, volunteer meetings, training sessions, movie screenings, plant-based pop-ups, community potlucks and running a vegan boutique. We are grateful Sarabeth has been a longtime supporter of ARC and we’re thrilled she feels the same way about us! See what other members are saying about why they chose to Give to the Max for ARC. 

Scan the QR code (shown above) or check out our fundraising page at: 

https://givemn.org/organization/Animal-Rights-Coalition 

Thank you for your continued support! 

You’re invited to ARC’s 27th Annual Turkey-Free Friendsgiving Potluck! Join us on Sunday, November 13th, from 4:00-6:00 pm at Living Spirit United Methodist Church to eat delicious vegan food and reunite with new and familiar faces. All are welcome! You do not need to be vegan or vegetarian to attend. Bring a vegan main dish, side dish, or dessert to share and ARC will provide beverages, along with a variety of vegan holiday roasts and cheeses to sample. A huge thanks to The Herbivorous Butcher for their support and donation of delicious vegan cheeses and holiday roast!

If you’re interested in volunteering at the Friendsgiving event, ARC needs help setting up beforehand, staffing the plant-based cheese table, greeting people as they enter, taking photos, helping the dishwasher and cleaning up at the end. Sign up to volunteer here!

Fall Semester has started and ARC is eager to get back into schools to talk to students about the benefits of switching to a plant-based diet and respecting all animals through veganism. For pay-per-view events, we bring virtual reality headsets that show three different videos of standard farming practices in the eyes of a chicken, a pig, or a cow exploited for her milk. Students are given $1 to watch one of the videos and talk with an ARC representative about what they saw. Volunteers are needed to help distribute literature, set up VR headsets, and talk to students about animal rights and veganism.

See ARC’s upcoming pay-per-view events below. If you’re interested in volunteering, click the sign up link in each event description, or email the Outreach Manager at Kelsey@animalrightscoalition.com. 

Pay-Per-View at Anoka Ramsey: Tuesday, October 25th, 9:00-2:00 pm

Pay-Per-View at Augsburg: Monday, November 7th, 9:00-3:00 pm

Pay-Per-View at Century: Tuesday, November 29th, 10:00-4:00 pm 

Pay-Per-View at Augsburg: Monday, December 5th, 9:00-3:00 pm

ARC activists were handing out literature, vegan cheese samples, creating chalk messages, doing TV Outreach, and holding banners and signs at and near the Minnesota State Fair this year as part of our campaign to educate the public about the hidden world of animal suffering at state and county fairs. We focused on how cow’s milk hurts our health, the planet, and the animals, and how cows at the fair suffer tremendously. We’ve already reached thousands, but just because the fair is over doesn’t mean our campaign is. This is a long-term endeavor, and there’s plenty of behind the scenes work to do between now and next August. Please email amyleinen@animalrightscoalition.com to get involved and make your voice count for the cows!

View ARC in action at the State Fair during our sidewalk chalk event, TV outreach, food sampling and banner display. You can also watch us live during TV outreach at the fair on Thursday, August 25th.

The Renaissance Festival is offering elephant, camel, pony, and llama rides yet again this year. While many people jump at the opportunity to get close to animals by buying exotic animal rides at fairs and fests, they probably wouldn’t if they knew about the suffering the animals endure being treated as amusement park attractions.

These animals are trucked around the country to different venues in small trailers and chained for hours each day. If they were allowed to live in the wild, they would have extensive social networks and travel miles upon miles every day. But when they’re sentenced to being “rides,” they’re forced to walk in circles day after day with hundreds of pounds on their backs for long hours, bored and uncomfortable.

There are huge public safety concerns, as well. These are wild animals who are forced to comply with their handlers’ demands by force, and sometimes they will reach a limit, resist their captors and revolt. 

Elephants also carry the human strain of tuberculosis (TB) and can easily transmit it. Most companies fail to have valid TB tests performed on their elephants due to the cost and difficulty of administration. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledges that this disease is highly transferable from elephants to humans. Yet, despite their knowledge of the inherent cruelty and danger, the Minnesota Renaissance Festival continues to feature exotic animal rides.

Join our protest to help raise awareness about these unethical attractions at the Renaissance Festival and encourage people attending to skip the animal exploitation and instead enjoy the activities that don’t hurt animals. RSVP here: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/802610197768493/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22page%22%7D]%7D 

MN Animal Rights Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/minnesota-animal-rights-meetup/events/287908066/ 

Photo taken by Brooke Reynolds (Captured by Brooke Photography): https://www.capturedbybrooke.com/…/Features/Ren-Fest-2017/